


And the Children Shall Lead

by bluedragoninamber



Category: Pre-Star Wars Legends and Canon, Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Gift Fic, Growing Up Jedi, Jedi Kids, Jedi Youngling Clans, Kid Fic, Pre-Canon, The ficlet grew a story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-15
Updated: 2017-12-29
Packaged: 2018-12-15 21:28:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11814531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluedragoninamber/pseuds/bluedragoninamber
Summary: A glimpse into the life of a Jedi crechemaster as the children teach Yoda a lesson.The ficlet grew a plot...the continuing adventures of three familiar Jedi younglings and their frazzled crechemaster!





	1. Yoda's Trick

**Author's Note:**

  * For [wrennette](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wrennette/gifts).



** Disclaimer ** **: I don’t own it, and I am making no money off of it.**

** AN ** **: A ficlet for Wrennette whose comment inspired the story. Pre-canon. Master Renar is my OC.**

            “Master Renar, come quick! We think we drowned Master Yoda!”

            The crechemaster glanced up from his datapad, blinking blankly at the dripping wet youngling pulling on his robe.

            “That’s impossible!” he sputtered. “You can’t have drowned Yoda!”

            Little Yan Dooku’s dark brown eyes were wide, radiating fear. Master Renar couldn’t remember ever seeing the boy so upset. He was usually unshakably calm.

            “We were practicing our levitation in the fountain room, and Master Yoda told us all to lift him up! But he was too heavy, and we dropped him in the river! He never came back up! We went into the water to find him, but he’s not there!”

            Master Renar’s eyes narrowed slightly. It had been quite a while since he had been a crecheling taking lessons from Yoda, but he distinctly remembered one of Yoda’s favorite tricks.

            He scooped the boy up, wet as he was, and said, “Come, Yan, let us go find Master Yoda.”

            They emerged into the fountain room to find the crechelings in an uproar. Master Renar set Yan on his feet as the children surged around him, wet hands grabbing for his robe, all of them trying to talk at once. Once the children were out of the pool, the water became instantly calm…far too quickly for that calm to be natural.

            Master Renar smiled with exasperated fondness. “Master Yoda, the game is over. It’s time to show yourself. Come out now. You’ve terrified the little ones enough.”

            For a moment, that unnatural silence continued. Then, with a huge Force wave of water, Yoda leapt up, revealing that the shape that all the crechelings had thought was a rock was actually a Jedi Grandmaster, laughing delightedly at his trick. The Force nearly shook with the children’s relief when they realized that they had not drowned Master Yoda after all.

            Master Yoda was still laughing as he said, “Fooled you, I did!” But when he saw all those small faces with traces of fear still showing, Yoda’s grin slipped.

            “A trick, it was! A game only!” Yoda said. But none of the younglings were smiling at him.

            Master Renar was about to intervene when Yan Dooku stepped forward. His arms were folded across his chest, and he was frowning mightily.

            “Master Renar says we shouldn’t scare people or make them afraid. It’s not nice. If you do, you’re supposed to say you’re sorry.” Yan stood up as straight as he could. He met Master Yoda’s eyes without flinching. “Master Renar says that even when we’re grown-up knights and masters we still have to be nice.”

            Master Renar was looking anywhere but at Master Yoda, attempting not to blush as he realized just how well his charges had been listening to him.

            Master Yoda stared at the little boy for a moment as Yan did his best not to fidget. Finally, he spoke.

            “Correct, you are, young one. Taught this, we all are. Yet, to forget such early lessons, too easy, it is.” Yoda bowed to the children. “Sorry, I am. Intended to frighten you, I did not. Learned a lesson, I have.”

            With a nudge from Master Renar, Dooku bowed back, and all the crechelings copied him.

            “We accept your apology, Master Yoda,” Dooku said, trying very hard not to feel rather proud of himself…or at least not to show it.

            Yoda smiled. “Now, interrupted, your lesson has been. Another example of Force levitation, you wish to see?” he asked.

            That got a cheer from the children. Master Renar laughed, expecting that Yoda would levitate one of the large rocks at the edge of the water. But then Yoda caught his eye.

            “My student, your crechemaster once was. A volunteer, he will be.”

            Master Renar knew that look. Yoda was in a mischievous mood. That didn’t bode well for him. Self-preservation kicked in a second too late as Yoda used the Force to lift Renar from the ground and dump him into the water. He came up sputtering, but his exasperated retort died on his lips as the children roared with laughter. Renar sighed, laughed at himself, and joined Yoda in splashing the children. The inevitable water fight followed. By the time Renar had gotten all his charges back to the creche, into dry clothes, and finally into their beds, he’d remembered why he’d become a crechemaster in the first place.

            As he ran a hand through his still damp hair and changed into dry robes, he couldn’t resist one more check on his charges. Yan Dooku slept curled on his side, and Renar thought of how wise the boy had been earlier that day. Perhaps Master Yoda would take an interest in Yan as a potential padawan. Time would tell.

            He sat down to finish his work that had been interrupted earlier, but his mind was not on his report. His eyes drifted back to the orderly rows of beds where the children slept soundly. Master Renar smiled, his heart full. Only the Force knew what awaited the younglings later, but for this moment, these children were his.


	2. A Trio of Friends

** Disclaimer ** **: I don’t own it, and I am making no money off of it.**

** AN ** **: The ficlet grew a story! Three sick younglings and an overfull youngling clan means Dooku gets two new friends. Master Kael and Master Lorna are also my OCs. I’ve made Yan Dooku, Sifo-Dyas, and Jocasta Nu all the same age.**

            Master Renar sighed as he checked in on Yan Dooku in the Healing Halls. A few days ago, the youngling clans had held a joint play date, and several of the human little ones had caught the Devian Flu. Other species were not affected. Unfortunately, that meant Master Renar had to leave Yan in the Healing Halls because it was very contagious. The last thing he needed was for more members of the Bear clan to get sick.

            Yan was not the only youngling to catch the flu. Two other younglings from the Clawmouse clan were also sick. Master Renar nodded to Master Kael who was checking on her sick younglings. They stood outside the isolation room and watched their charges.

            “Master Renar, Healer Che says the children will not be ready to return to the clan for at least three nights,” Master Kael said. “Of course, I am concerned for my younglings, but I am also concerned for another reason.”

            “This is something you think I can help with?” Master Renar asked. He had never been close friends with Master Kael, but he made certain to be polite to her. As he had told the younglings, one always had to be nice…even when one did not really like the other person.

            Master Kael sighed and shook her blue braids out of her face, a nervous gesture that Master Yoda occasionally called her on.

            “The infant crechemaster informed me today that she has two younglings ready to age up into a clan, and they wish to place them in mine. Apparently, Master Lorna and her assistants are very convinced that they must be Clawmouse. However, my clan is full. In order to accept them, two of my younglings must move to another clan. Your clan has two open spots.” She frowned. “I know it is not encouraged to move younglings, but Master Lorna is insistent, and Master Yoda supports the move.”

            Master Renar eyed her with dismay. “You wish to move your two ill younglings? I cannot fathom why this would be a good thing. The children do not need this upheaval. What will they think when they are better and have no clan to return to?”

            Master Kael shrugged. “There’s only so much I can do. They will have a clan. They will be Bears.”

            Master Renar managed not to wince. This was one of the things that he did not like about Master Kael. Perhaps it was not becoming for a Jedi, but he’d always felt that she was less dedicated to the welfare of her clan than he was to his clan. Perhaps he cared too much, but he worried sometimes that she didn’t care enough.

            Now, Master Renar sighed. “Very well. But I expect you to be here to explain to them that they have done nothing wrong when they have to move.”

            Master Kael nodded. “It’s not their fault, of course.”

            Renar muttered under his breath as he watched her walk away. “They may not see it that way.”

            Indeed, they didn’t when they were given the news several days later. Master Kael briskly explained the situation, left them their meager possessions, and returned to their former clanmates.

            Master Renar did his best to reassure the children. The boy had black hair and brown eyes, and the girl had blond hair and blue eyes. Both were barely four-years-old, and both of them were clearly struggling not to cry.

            “It’s alright. Nothing that happened was your fault. You did nothing wrong.” He attempted to offer the children a hug, something that some of the older Jedi would say he did too much, but they shied away from him. Master Renar tried to think of some other way to reassure the children.

            “Hello. Are you two new members of the Bears?” Yan Dooku asked, coming to stand beside the two empty beds next to his own.

            The boy and girl nodded. “I’m Sifo-Dyas, but everyone calls me Sifo,” the boy said. He nudged the girl beside him.

            She smiled tremulously. “My name is Jocasta Nu. Some people call me Jo.” Her smile faltered. “We are…were…Clawmouse.”

            Yan smiled invitingly, the kind of smile that made Master Renar immediately think of the best diplomats of the Jedi Order. The little boy held out a hand to the other children.

            “It is good to be a Clawmouse. It is good to be a Bear too.” First Sifo and then Jocasta shook his hand. “I think you need a friend. Would you like to be friends with me?”

            That got real smiles from both of the new Bears. “I’d like that,” Sifo said, and Jocasta nodded.

            “Me, too,” she said.

            Yan nodded. “Okay then, we’ll all be friends. What do you like to do best?”

            Jocasta grinned. “I like to listen to stories about everything. I’m trying to learn to read as fast as I can so I won’t have to wait for the teachers to tell us new stories.”

            Sifo laughed. “You’ll learn to read faster than any of us! I like to watch everyone and see how much I can remember. You can learn a lot from watching people especially when people don’t notice you.”

            Yan looked thoughtful. “I like to know how different people and planets get along with each other.” He pointed at the two empty beds. “I think the three of us will be good friends. You two should choose your beds now.”

            Master Renar, meanwhile, breathed a sigh of relief. Little Yan’s handling of the situation had been impressive, and he suspected that the three children were going to become inseparable. He was not surprised when Sifo directed Jocasta to the middle bed, placing her between him and Yan. That the two boys would be protective of Jocasta seemed a foregone conclusion. And though Master Kael might have disapproved of the budding attachment and separated the children, Master Renar didn’t even consider it.

            Though he rarely got intuitions from the Force, he found himself thinking that the connection among the trio might be what saved their lives.

            Master Renar hoped it wouldn’t come to that, but he kept them together anyway.


End file.
